Canadian Hospital Welcomes Dogs with Open Arms

Scientific studies have revealed that humans heal faster when they are giving in some way. Seriously, look it up! Perhaps allowing pets into a hospital is a truly genius idea in the evolution of health care. Allowing owners to show love to their pets may be a missing link in their recovery.

This forward thinking Canadian hospital, Juravinski Hospital, realized that patients who love their pets were extremely happy to be able to have them while in the hospital. Likewise, many people report feeling better when they have animals around, and wellness dogs have been shown to improve people’s emotional well being.

Because our emotions interact so much with our physical body, it’s easy to see how the love and affection of a favorite pet could help brighten spirits and raise optimism in hard times like being ill or injured.

Photo: Yuko Hara

This hospital is in the mountains in Canada but it’s no small operation. They started out all the way back in 1917 for veterans. Now they offer orthopedic care, are known for their cancer treatment and have a full operating hospital.

People on Facebook not only like this idea, they love it. Photos of pets in the hospital beds with their owners have recently gone completely viral showing this is something that really hits home with people.

Could they be onto something and setting a trend not only for Canada but for other countries as well?

While there are inherent obstacles to overcome such as who will walk them, how well they need to be trained and if other people are allergic, it seems like something worth fighting for. Animals make us feel better, plain and simple. They give love endlessly and they make us laugh.

Laughter has been proven to release endorphins which actually reduce pain in the physical body. If a funny little dog or a curious cat could help reduce a patient's pain without getting them addicted to substances, why wouldn’t people want to try this? Canada is known for having a great healthcare program and this is just another example of their forward thinking.

They certainly have an open mind and hopefully other health care providers will start to consider letting animals visit patients too. Animals have been brought in to cheer up patients for a long time, but there’s a special connection between an owner and their animal. The animal is sensitive to how their owner feels and the owner considers the pet a companion, like a friend.

Some people don’t have friends that visit them in the hospital, and to some people their animal is truly their best friend. If we can reunite people that are hurting with the ones they love the most, no matter how much fur they have, it can provide them some relief. Animals get our mind off of our own problems because they are cute and silly. They help us get in touch with that loving side of ourselves too.

Diana currently lives and works in London, UK and she's been an animal lover and dog owner since she was a child. After graduating high school, she focused on getting her degree in English to become a writer with a focus on animals, pets and dogs.

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